Dead Until Dark

Well... I've oficially read this book four times, so I should probably tell you why I like this one so much.
First, I really like Sookie as a character. She's young, naive, she's a good person and she's tough. She's got a strong moral fiber and I appreciate and respect how she is written to always be true to herself. I like Bill too, he's intriguing, he's dangerous, he's honest and he doesn't give excuses for what he is and what he's done. Yet, he cares for her, you can see how sweet he is, and how well meaning. You can see their relationship is well crafted and how it has its ups and downs and how normal, or as normal as it can be with the supernatural thrown in the mix, which is why it's all the more heartbreaking when you think of how their relationship ends in latter books.
Second, the setting of the book is also great. Although the main focus is the romance (duh), Charlaine Harris starts to build a unique world around Sookie. She's a telepath, Bill's a vampire, Sam's a shapeshifter... We get a glimpse at how the vampire world works, how different people react to this new creatures roaming around and how small towns go about their day to day lives.
Third, these books are little mysteries and I like how the author writes them. Having read this one more than once, of course I know the twist, and I know how to look for the clues, but it still amazes me how she planted them and how it all comes full circle at the end. What I like the most though is how people react to the crimes. You don't see the police investigation, you don't see the murders being committed, but you see how a small towns reacts, how that affects Sookie and her family and in the end, it all feels very realistic. She isn't an overpowered heroine trying to save the world, she's just a girl fighting for her life and caring for her people and it's a nice change of pace to some other urban fantasy romance books. ( )

I referred to this book as "candy" - the type of book that you can read over a weekend and enjoy. I liked Sookie as a character. Even though Bill tried to protect her, she was also able to take care of herself and I really appreciated that. I thought it was interesting that everyone knew vampires existed although they explain it away as a virus. (I suspect they go into the mythology in the later books.) And I really enjoyed the mystery. It kept me guessing. I tend to read a lot of books with strong female characters and I think I will keep going with this series. ( )

199

It's been awhile since I read this one. I remember wondering if this was Laurell K. Hamilton writing under a pen name. It's much gentler than Hamilton, and the heroine is funny and likable. There's an element of romance novel in it as well. ( )

I decided to re-read this because I just can't seem to get into anything right now, and I am so glad I did. I had forgotten how much I liked this series. It was a quick and fun read. The audiobooks are great. I never got around to finishing the series so maybe I will now. ( )